Suction device for removing hair clippings



Feb. 18, 1958 R ALEO" 2,823,410

SUCTION DEVICE FOR REMOVING HAIR CLIPPINGS Filed Aug. 16, 19 55 INVENTOR. JOSEPH R ALEO arramtr United States Patent SUCTION DEVICE FOR REMOVING HAIR CLIPPINGS Joseph Paul Aleo, Rochester, N. Y. Application August 16, 1955, Serial No. 528,663 4 Claims. (Cl. -339) The present invention relates generally to tonsorial apparatus and more particularly to a suction device for removing hair clippings from persons after their hair has been cut.

In some States, when a barber finishes giving a haircut he will use a soft brush, on which talcum powder has been sprinkled, to remove hair clippings. In other States, for example, New York State, the use of a brush for such a purpose is outlawed for sanitary reasons. Regulations will not allow the use of any implement which has come into contact with the body of one person to be subsequently used on the body of another person without first being sterilized. In States having such regulations barbers generally take a piece of disposable, sterilized, tissue paper, fold it and then use one end to brush away as much clipped hair as possible; or, they will use a clean towel on each customer to wipe away clipped hair. Both the folded tissue and the towel are generally ineffective for this purpose. This is particularly true in warm weather when perspiration tends to make hair clippings adhere to the skin.

In States where the use of a brush to remove hair clip-. pings is allowed, the performance of such a brush leaves much to be desired. The brush scatters the clippings as it sweeps across the back of a persons neck; and, it generally is only able to remove hair which is readily accessible.

One object of this invention is to provide a suction device for removing hair clippings which can be used successively on a plurality of customers without violating any existing State sanitary regulations pertaining to barbers.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described which will operate more efficiently and more effectively than any means for removing hair clippings heretofore available.

Another object of this invention is to provide a suction device of the character described having means which prevents the person on whom the device is used from having his or her skin and hair pulled by the suction force.

Another object of this invention is to provide a suction device of the character described having means which insures a continual suction force at the inlet of the device regardless of the curvature of the surface against which it is placed.

Further objects of this invention are .to provide a suction device for removing hair clippings which is compact, which can be manufactured at low cost, and which will not interfere with a barbers regular routine in cutting hair.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a sheet of disposable sterilized tissure adapted to serve as a shield for a suction nozzle without interfering with the cleaning ability of the nozzle.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appended claims.

2,823,410 Patented Feb. 18, 1958 In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a part side elevation, part section of the nozzle of a suction device constructed according to one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a part side elevation, part axial section of an assembled suction device made according to this embodiment of the invention, a sanitary shield being shown mounted on the nozzle at the inlet thereof and a holding ring being shown in position on the nozzle to hold the shield removably in place;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the inlet end of the nozzle with the sanitary shield and ring removed;

Fig. 4 is a front view of a sheet of sterilized tissue such as may be used to form a protective shield for the nozzle;

and p Fig. 5 is a side view illustrating the manner in which the suction device is used.

Referring now to the drawing by numerals of reference, 10 indicates the body of the tubular nozzle of the suction device, which is molded from plastic of any desired color. Aluminum, or other light, easily fabricated metals, may also be used. However, for reasons of economy and appearance, plastic is preferable.

' The tubular nozzle has a rear, outlet end 11, a forward, inlet end 12 and a trumpet-shaped bore 13. Outlet end 11 is adapted to be connected by a vacuum hose 14 (Fig. 5) to a source of suction power and to a hair clipping receptacle, not shown. Inlet end 12 is adapted to be manually moved back and forth across the head of a person who has had a haircut to remove hair clippings therefrom. Q

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, inlet end 12 has a forward face 15 which is dished or concave; and, it has a neck 16 the peripheral surface of revolution of which is substantially parallel to the axis of the nozzle. The periphery of the inlet is generally elliptical in shape (Fig. 3), the minor diameter being about one-third of the major diameter.

Projecting forwardly of the forward face 15 are four bosses 17 which are equally spaced around the nozzle inlet end and which serve a purpose hereinafter described.

The nozzle has a peripheral rib 20 between its ends which forms a shoulder or seat 21 at the inner end of neck 16.

To prevent the .face 15 of the nozzle from coming into direct contact with the body of a person whose hair has been cut when the nozzle is in use to remove hair clippings, the nozzle is adapted to be covered by a disposable sheet 25 of sterilized material, preferably tissue paper, which acts as a shield. Gauze or some other similar type of porous material might also be used. Sheet 25 may be of any desired shape, such as rectangular, as shown in Fig. 4, so long as its overall area is greater than the area of the face 15 of the nozzle.

Sheet 25 is formed with an opening 26 which may be elliptical to conform to the elliptical shape of the inlet opening in the nozzle. Opening 26 is substantially smaller than the inlet opening in the nozzle.

Sheet 25 is removably held in place on the suction nozzle by means of a resilient plastic ring 27, also of elliptical shape. The sheet is spread over the nozzle inlet and around neck 16 of the nozzle. Then ring 27 is slid over neck 16 of the nozzle and forced rearwardly until it engages seat or shoulder 21. As shown in Fig. 2, when the ring is in a seated position, its front face is spaced rearwardly of the bosses 17.

Preferably ring 27 is knurled on its periphery to make it easier to handle. Also, it is formed with a rounded surface 30 at its rear which facilitates removal of the ring from the nozzle.

When sheet 25 is mounted on the nozzle, it seats on the forwardly projecting bosses 17 and is pressed tightly around neck 16 by ring 27. The unsupported portions of the sheet between the bosses are drawn rearwardly by suction when the device is in use and form an undulatory surface.

S The suction device is used after a person has had a haircut by positioning the nozzle against the persons head or neck, as shown in Fig. 5, and then moving the nozzle back and forth across the head and neck to suck up hair clippings. Since the sterilized sheet 25 covers front face 15 of the nozzle inlet, the nozzle does not come into direct contact with the person on whom it is used. Likewise, ring 27 does not contact the person either, since it is set back on neck 16' and spaced from the end of the nozzle. The bosses 17 act to hold the sterilized sheet forwardly on the nozzle. Hair clippings are sucked through opening 26 in sheet 25, through the bore 13 of the nozzle and then into vacuum hose 14 which conveys it to the receptacle.

Since the face of nozzle 15 has a concave surface,

the nozzle can be brought into close contact with the surfaces of the persons head and neck. The inlet of an ordinary nozzle, under such circumstances, would become closed on contact with the persons body, and skin and hair would be pulled as clippings where sucked up. However, air-pull of the skin and un-clipped hair is prevented by applicants novel design. The undulating paper portions between the bosses 17' insures that air will always be passing freely into and through nozzle 10 when the nozzle is in use with the air passing into the nozzle between the persons skin and the undulating front surface of tissue.

After each use, the barber slides ring 27 from the nozzle and throws away the used sterilized tissue paper.

He then mounts a new, clean, sterilized tissue on the nozzle and secures it in position by ring 27. The change from an old sheet to a new one takes only a few seconds.

Since the nozzle does not come into direct contact with the person on whom it is used, it does not violate sanitary regulations pertaining to barbers and their apparatus. The only thing that comes into direct contact with the persons body is sterilized tissue, and it is thrown away after it is used once, and a new tissue is placed on the suction nozzle.

Applicant by his invention has solved a heretofore difficult problem. Up until now no acceptable means has been afforded to overcome the diflicult task of sanitarily removing hair clippings. Now the task can be quickly, inexpensively and eificiently accomplished.

While the invention has been described in connection with several different embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification. For example, any suitable number of bosses 17 could be used on the end of the nozzle. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. A head for suction apparatus for removing hair clippings from a person after a hair cut, comprising a tubular member having an inlet opening at its front end and an outlet opening at its rear end, said rear end being connectable to a suction source, the front end wall of said tubular member being provided with a plurality of bosses spaced angularly about the bore of said tubular member and projecting forwardly, and means for removably securing a flexible, disposable, sanitary sheet over said front end wall, said sheet serving to prevent contact of the front end of said member with the skin and hair of a person, and said bosses serving to render the sheet undulatory when said rear end is connected to the suction source, thereby to insure that air will be drawn into said member over said sheet between the bosses so as to prevent the inlet opening becoming closed upon application of the front end of said member to a persons body.

2. A head for suction apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said member is formed aroundits periphery adjacent its front end with a surface of revolution that terrninatcs at its rear in a shoulder, and said head has a removable ring fitting over said surface of revolution to clamp the sanitary sheet over the front end of said member.

3. A head for suction apparatus for removing hair clippings from a person after a hair cut, comprising a tubular member, the front portion of which is elliptical in shape to provide an elliptical inlet opening at the front end of said member, the rear end of said tubular member being connectable to a suction source, the front end face of said tubular member being generally concave and having a single row of bosses projecting forwardly therefrom and angularly spaced from one another around the bore of said member, and means for removably securing a disposable flexible sanitary sheet over said front end face, said sheet serving to prevent contact of said front end face with the body of a person, and said posses serving to render the sheet undulatory when said rear end is connected to said suction source, thereby to insure that air will be drawn into said member over said sheet between said bosses to prevent the inlet opening from being closed upon application of the front end of said member to a persons body.

4. The combination with a head for suction apparatus for removing hair clippings from a person after a hair cut, comprising a tubular member, the front portion of which is elliptical in shape to provide an elliptical inlet opening at the front end of said member, the rear end of said tubular member being connectable to a suction source, the front end face of said tubular member being generally concave and having a plurality of bosses projecting forwardly therefrom and arranged in a single row in angularly spaced relation around the bore of said member, of a flexible, disposable sanitary sheet, said sheet having an elliptical opening therein disposed centrally thereof and no larger than the bore of said tubular member at its front end, and means for removably securing said sanitary sheet over the front end face of said member, said sanitary sheet serving to prevent contact of said front end face with a person, and said bosses serving to render the sheet undulatory when said rear end is connected to said suction source thereby to insure that air will be drawn into said member over said sheet between said bosses.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,083,087 Grifliths Dec. 30, 1913 1,221,221 Rothfeld Apr. 3, 1917 1,425,158 Wolfsohn Aug. 8, 1922 1,994,869 Replogle Mar. 19, 1935 2,249,936 Birtcher July 22, 1941 2,655,147 Rohrer Oct. 13, 1953 

